When I was 11 years old, my Aunt Mary bought me Wingman, by Daniel Manus Pinkwater. I am greatful. Disguised in Mr. Pinkwater's funky, quirky, belivably flawed, beautiful human characters is a story about family, heritage, prejudice, and the power of the imagination.

The story centers around a young Chinese boy who loves comics. His father is supporting the family after his mother becomes ill. He is picked upon in school. Soon, he is playing hooky to read his comics in the "saftey" of a bridge span. It is there we meet Wingman. He swoops the boy off to ancient China. He is tall, powerful, handsome, invincible. . . and Chinese.

The book shows powerfully, without being preachy, values such as cultural pride, and the feelings of being "different." It is an incredible read, whether you are 11 or 70.

Daniel Pinkwater read this on Chinwag Theatre and it sounds wonderful. What child's imagination wouldn't be captured by an Aunt who has no car but instead has her dog sled in New Jersey? As the owner of a middle aged Siberian, my daughter is fascinated by dogs who work.

The illustration are what we have come to expect from the Pinkwaters. Light, minimal, but sufficient. The dogs are sweet and personable. The Aunt is eccentric but someone any adventureous child would love to have visit.

Author and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater dedicates this book to *good* librarians everywhere, and creates an unforgettable character in Lulu, librarian to some rather boring miners in Alaska until she grows tired of the grind and moves to New Jersey with her sled dogs Melvin, Louise, Phoebe, Willie, Norman, Hortense, Bruce, Susie, Charles, Teddie, Neddie, Eddie, Freddie and Sweetie-pie. But what to do about transportation? Aunt Lulu has an intriguing solution.

Don't forget, Daniel Pinkwater writes affectionate, hilarious books for adults too!

I agree - how can this be out of print!?!! We love to give the miners different voices, and it's great that Aunt Lulu is so confident and loves her dogs so much. Pinkwater is so talented!!!

Extremely funny book that may be of greater interest to adults, especially teachers, librarians and school administrators or anyone involved in children's book publishing, than kids. A hapless author endures a trying visit to Melvinville Elementary School. His day quickly goes downhill, starting with a mix-up over which book he's actually written (a mistake that never gets corrected), and ends with a bunny-bitten thumb and baloney and chalk all over his clothes -- but his love for kids and books still intact. Pinkwater's dry wit and wonderfully silly names had me gasping for the Ventolin. I didn't mind.

Part of my job at a children's book publisher is to arrange visits by authors and illustrators to schools. I have never laughed so hard at work in the 10 years I've been doing this. I've sent this book to at least 20 authors with whom I work, and they've all assured me that the story of Bramwell Wink-Porter's star-crossed school visit is undoubtedly true. Despite poking gentle fun at all the things that can go wrong during a school visit, this book is not unkind and Pinkwater's affection for kids and the adults who bring good literature to them comes through.

Author's Day is a very funny book in which a write r of a book (that looks like Pinkwater himself!) has written a book about bunnie rabbits. All of the teachers and children think that he is someone else. It is a picture book, but it is by Pinkwater. Very good and funny.

In Canada, we hear of Polar Bears invading the towns close to the North Pole. As global warming becomes more of a reality each year, the Polar Bears actually have to be escorted out of Churchill, (Alberta?) so that small children or pets aren't attacked. Back to the book -- this is a sweet look at emotions that children can relate to, when this polar bear finds himself in unfamiliar territory, trying to survive.

Children love the silly paradox of a polar bear at the beach, and I love reading the book to them!

I am a kindergarten teacher, and while my students enjoy this book, I don't think they like it more than I do. I read this book to my husband and teen-aged sons, and have read it for my own pleasure many times. I think this book could be well used in a high school English class when discussing tone or comic timing. I only wish that the Larry books would come out in paperback so that more people could enjoy them, and that another old Pinkwater favorite, Roger's Umbrella,were still in print.

Ice Cream Larry is one of a series of books about Larry, a polar bear, who lives at a hotel and works as a lifeguard at the hotel pool. Larry has never eaten a human being, but he is always hungry, and in this book he eats 250 pounds of ice cream and wants more. His greed leads him to fame as the spokesbear of the Iceberg Ice Cream company and a new product is named after him. The Larry Bar comes in many flavors including blueberry and codfish. The Larry books are hilarious, and the illustrations colorful and engaging. I have read this book many, many times to my 3-year old, who never gets tired of Larry's antics with his brother Roy and his friends at the hotel, the Frobishers... The phrase "And I don't feel sick!" has become one of our standard jokes when we eat ice cream (or anything else we like a lot!)

Daniel Pinkwater's "The Werewolf Club #1: The Magic Pretzel" is a fun book for young readers. The story is an entertaining blend of fantasy and humor, and is well enhanced by Jill Pinkwater's cartoony illustrations.

This book tells the story of Norman Gnormal, a boy whose parents have raised him as if he were a puppy. A kid who doesn't quite fit in with the average crowd, Norman finds a fairly supportive peer group in an after-school club for students who hapen to be werewolves. The club members go on a mission to help their faculty advisor, Mr. Talbot, with a dilemma invoving the magical relic of the book's title.

This book reminded me a little of the film "The Little Vampire," but is sillier (and hairier). The text opens with a spoofy werewolf Q&A, and incorporates some clever references to werewolf films and lore. Good fun!

Fourth grader, Norman Gnormal has been raised as a dog...it's what his parents really wanted when they had him and his earliest memories are of playing fetch with his father. Now the principal of the Watson Elementary School has signed him up for the Werewolf Club, since there aren't any other activities for boys who think that they're dogs. At the first meeting, scary and weird Mr Talbot, a werewolf himself and the club's sponsor, sets the group's first mission in motion. They are going to cure themselves of this evil curse by stealing the "Magic Pretzel", kept in a burglar proof case in the Museum of Pretzel. One bite, under the full moon and the curse will be lifted! Daniel Pinkwater has written a fast paced, funny, absurd and delightful short chapter book, that is just perfect for kids aged 7-10. With action packed scenes and hip kid-speak language, your youngsters will be turning pages to the very end as Norman, the only non-werewolf of the club, uses his canine skills to find and capture the prized pretzel. This is the beginning of a terrific series and a sure way to help your kids enjoy reading.

This is my first book by the Pinkwaters (Daniel writes and Jill illustrates) but it won't be my last. The Werewolf Club : The Magic Pretzel, is a silly, absurd book but in the most delightful way.

You see, Mr. Talbot, half-man, half-wolf, and sponsor of the Watson Elementary School Werewolf Club needs the one thing that can keep you from turning into a werewolf: The Magic Pretzel. Unfortunately, it is under the care of Talbot's half brother, Lance Von Sweeny, who keeps it locked away. Enter Norman Gnormal, the only nonwerewolf in the club, who was raised as a dog by his quirky parents (who actually wanted a dog instead of a little boy). Norman uses his tracking skills and canine-like smell to help Talbot find the magic pretzel, but of course it ain't easy.

This is the first book in the series known as THE WEREWOLF CLUB and I hope the next book is just as wacky and wonderful as this one. The illustrations aid a great deal to the story and serve the writing style very nicely. Grab a bowl of pretzels (magic or otherwise) and enjoy.

Daniel Pinkwater's excellent formula of humor and imagination makes among the funniest but exciting books. I have found that in almost every book of Mr. Pinkwater's, his imagination can take you anywhere from halfway around the globe to a magical backyard. Here lollipops can dance and time is like a map of New Jersey. Humor dominates in the Kingdom of Pinkwater. Two books that I read were: The Worms of Kukumlima and The Snarkout Boys and the Baconburg Horror. In The Snarkout Boys and the Baconburg Horror: Winston Bongo and Walter Garr are two teenagers who snarkout. Snarking is when you sneak out of the house to go see a movie. At the Snarkout Theater, the two boys meet a girl named Rat. When something horrible happens and secrets starts to damage things around the city of Baconburg, it is up to the three friends to figure out what is happening. The strange thing is shredding things with what seems to be claws. Meeting odd characters and people who can help them makes a perfect plot and an exciting story. You never know what is lurking around the corner, and it's up to you to decide who is friend and who is foe.

Daniel Pinkwater is such a great guy. He doesn't bother with the New York Times when he needs jacket quotes, he goes straight to his fans! These are some of the best books in the world, all here in one volume. Borgel changed my life. It says so on the inside cover so it's true. Yobgorgle is a modern day Flying Dutchman. The Worms of Kukumlima comes complete with giant intelligent worms, and the second Snarkout book is poetry in motion. These books cannot be found in print individually anymore, so for a quadruple dose of funny freaky fantasy, 4 Fantastic Novels is your Rx.

Daniel Pinkwater is a fabulous author. His skewed take on life is not only funny and entertaining but reminds every reader that there's more to life than meets the eye. You'll discover something new each time you read (and re-read) Pinkwater's stories, making Pinkwater loved by kids and adults alike. If you buy this book, prepare to have your views on life broadened -- all while being wildly entertained.

I enjoyed these witty essays, but had trouble ignoring a few things. One, the author seems to have a compulsive need to remind the reader that he's fat. OK, if we haven't picked it up from the cover, we get it. Sometimes it was relevant to the piece and sometimes it wasn't.

Secondly, I detected the oh-too-familiar complaint of many writers - that they are unsung geniuses and anyone who criticizes their work doesn't know squat. (I noticed this with Stephen King's and Rita Mae Brown's books on writing.) Some critics don't know what they're doing, but some do. If most people who work in publishing are ignoramuses, how did your books manage to get published? Writers who can make a living doing what they love should ease up on the whining.

I've read other Pinkwater books. Some are great, some are so-so, and some are in dire need of editing.... In any case, whether or not he's a genius (yes, he actually discusses this) will only tell with time.

And, while I'm really on a roll, why this pathological reluctance to mention his alma mater? I went there. It's a decent school. Lots of flaky artists, but certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

Hoboken Fish and Chicago Whistle is one of eighty excellent books by Daniel Pinkwater. He is a regular commentator on public radio and this is a diverse collection of his radio commentaries and essays. This is an excellent book with loads of humor. Pinkwater is a comic genius and a superb writer. Pinkwater's essays have topics ranging from the humor impaired, to his life in Hoboken, New Jersey, to dog training. Pinkwater recommends all his books for intelligent young adults and up who have their sense of humor intact, and I agree.

When I was smaller I read, nay, devoured _Alan Mendelsohn, Boy From Mars_, _The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death_ and _Lizard Music_. When I was but small I discovered Mr. Pinkwater's first collection of NPR commentaries, and I learned to eat pizza...one handed...while holding a drink...and running for the bus. Then I discovered the second collection. Since then I have worn out three copies of each. To have them togehter in one HARDBOUND volume is literally a dream come true. You cannot afford to miss this book.

Review by 6 yr old. A good book about sharing. Teaches you about being nice and the importance of friendship.

This is my favorite kids book and really, it's much deeper than the usual 'morality lite' type of sharing message. I have read "Doodle Flute" to most of our nine kids dozens and dozens of times. We never tire of it. Some of my kids have adopted weird kid, Mason Mintz, as their personal hero because the guy has guts-- real guts to be exactly who he is, no apologies. I have read "Doodle Flute" to high school catechism classes teaching the tpoic of human dignity. The highschoolers loved it and discussed it at legnth. Daniel Pinkwater infuses some solid truths about human dignity into this book in a nearly brilliantly understated way. Our family owns at least a thousand books, hundreds of childrens books. "Doodle Flute" should be on every book shelf-- children's and adults' alike.

Robert Nifkin, socially awkward son of eccentric immigrants, finds himself an inmate in a god-awful Chicago high school staffed by incompetent, bigoted, intolerant teachers. With the help of fellow free-thinking oddballs, Robert discovers 1950s Chicago bohemia and the benefits of self education. Great digs at vapid consumer culture and intellectual conformity are made along the way.
Though arguably Pinkwater's best written and best paced work to date, I couldn't help feeling I'd read most of this before. Nifkin's Chicago will be very familiar territory to fans of _The Snarkout Boys_ books and Pinkwater's autobiographical essay collections.
The most serious problem with _The Education of Robert Nifkin_ is it's length. It ended far too soon, darn it!
Uptight parents offended by the idea of a teenager cutting classes and smoking cigars should buy this one for their kids anyway and lighten up a bit.
--Stefan Jones

NPR columns, particularly the ones when he was looking at
being a person-of-size in America, but since no new ones have
come out, I picked this up as one of his most recent young adult novels. I expect much of this is autobiographical but it is very funny and wise and has a two-page reading list that I believe may
actually BE a list of the books Pinkwater read in High School. Chances are if you are even reading this review, you have already decided to buy this book. So, go ahead.

This is a must read for everyone even if they have never been to high school yet...ESPECIALLY if they have never been to high school yet. Daniel is a Mad Genius and I seriously reccomend this book.

No matter what else may be said about him...this man does know his craft.

If you read Pinkwater before then this is for you. if not then start with Lizard Music and read every book he has written until your eyes bug out and your head spins. Then pick this up and read it.

Before I ordered this book, I read the reviews. I bcame convinced this must be a zany, funny book -- just the thing for my children. So I went ahead and ordered not *The Hoboken Chicken Emergency" only, but a volume of novels by Pinkwater. Oh, well. It's only money (though it could have been better spent elsewhere).

*The Hoboken Chicken Emergency* does have a wonderful premise and some satire as well (hence my pleasure at reading its reviews). I suppose it also has lessons to be learned about fearing the unknown -- but didacticism is not enough to make a good book. Nothing covers up for the fact that this book just plain isn't very good -- not for a modern child to read. I knew I was in trouble when I began reading it aloud to my son: each sentence had a dying fall, and the wit was strained, not spontaneous and fetching. "What am I getting into," I thought. Henrietta the chicken is lost and Henrietta is found, but the whole thing was a contest to see if I could finish the book before my child rebelled -- or I did.

Sad to say, this book shows its age. Some of the writing, too, needs polish. If you are tempted to buy this self-consciously zany book, buy *I Was a Rat* instead. *I Was a Rat* is all heart. *The Hoboken Chicken Emergency* is all lumpy prose. I'm hoping for better things with the other Pinkwater volumes I purchased, but we shall have to see. I love older rediscovered books, but this one doesn't work. Children expect more depth of story, not just cleverness at the expense of story. I'm very sure readers have fond memories of this book, but memory alone cannot bring the book alive for a modern audience. Give *The Hoboken Chicken Emergency* a pass, and go for a funny book that's meaty with heart and soul. If *I Was a Rat" doesn't appeal, you might try *The Little Prince* (Antoine de Sainte-Exupery) -- my son doesn't really understand it, but he loves it and seems to recognize that there are real issues underlying the surface.

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency was a really good book. It is a good book for third grade and up to read on their own. It takes place in Hoboken, New Jersey around Thanksgiving. It's about a boy named Arthur who goes to look for a turkey for Thanksgiving. The problem comes when he can't find one. Instead he ends up getting a 266 pound chicken named Henrietta. Arthur tries to keep the chicken as a pet but it runs away. Henrietta (the chicken) feels unwanted and creates diasters all over town. Read the book to find out what happens next. We thought the book was hilarious, funny, and exciting. We are nine and ten years old and we liked the book alot!

I didn't enjoy this book as much as Lizard Music or the Snarkout Boys and the Avacado of Death, but I found it on the whole to be a very enjoyable read... Much reccomended for Pinkwater fans, and seems to be a popular first book for people who've never read any D.M.P.